Advent Glimpses of our Future
We are told in the scriptures to “Not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 ESV). And then again, “For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” (Hebrews 10:36 NRSV). If Christ is not raised from the dead then our preaching, teaching and witnessing about His resurrection is all in vain. But, it is not. Christ is risen; we too shall be raised. The Resurrection of Jesus is the best news of history; the dissemination of that message is the best thing we can do with our lives, and it is never in vain.
“If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:19-20, 54–58 ESV)
